Theories of Art

Art

complex and multifaceted form of human expression that transcends cultural, historical and geographical boundaries.

Visual art

Music

Dance

Literature

Theater

Architecture

Wide range of Medium (VMDLTA)

Ideas

Emotions

Experiences

Focus in communication through arts (IEE)

Personal Reflection

Social Commentary

Political Engagement

Aesthetic Enjoymen

Art has been a tool of (PSPA)

provides framework for understanding art

offers various ways to examine how art functions

Function of Theories of Art

Representational Theory

Expressive Theory

Formalist Theory

Aestheticism

Pragmatism

Institutional Theory of Art

Cultural Theory of Art

Structuralism and Post-Structuralism in Art

Feminism Theory in Art

Phenomenology of Art

10 Theories of Art

Representational Theory

Primary function of art is to represent or imitate reality

Mimesis Theory

representational theory is also known as

Serve as the mirror to this world

Accurately Reflecting the visible world, nature or human life

Representational theory suggests that art is

Plato and Aristotle

These philosophers in greece do originates the representational theory

Greek philosophy

representation theory in arts originated in

Mere Imitation of Nature

"Shadow" of the true reality

Plato's idea in republic

Reveal deeper truths

Aristotle's idea of Art

Renaissance period

Representational theory is particularly influential in this period

Lifelike Depictions of the human form, nature and architecture

Renaissance art is highly detailed especially in

Mona Lisa

David

Famous artworks during renaissance

Leonardo da Vinci

Painter of Mona Lisa

Michelangelo

Sculpturer of David

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa

It is where the artist focused on creating a realistic representation of the subject's face

Michelangelo's David

It is where exemplifies the human body in its natural proportions

Realism

Photorealism

Movements that are faithful representation of the external world.

Gustave Courbet

Chuck Close

Artists in Realism and Photorealism

Postmodernism artist and Theorist

They believe that representation is limited and that art should move beyond mimicking the world to explore abstraction, imagination, and subjectivity

Expressive theory

Focuses on the artist's emotion and inner experiences as the driving force behind the creation of art.

Art in Expressive theory

It is an emotional expression of the artist's internal state and serves as a medium for communicating personal feelings to others.

19th century

Rise of Romanticism

19th Century

this theory of expressive in this period arose where artist began to emphasize individual emotion and subjective experience over rationality and lassical ideals.

Benedetto Croce

R.G. Collingwood

Key proponents of the expressive theory who argued that art's primary function is to express the artist's emotional experience

Formal Beauty and Harmony

Expressive theory rejects this idea instead it focus on personal expression

JMW Turner

Eugene Delacroix

Prominent artist in painting during romantic period

Use intense of color and dramatic compositions

Emphasize the emotional Impact rather than realistic representation

Description of art during romantic period

Ludwig van Beethoven

Example artist in music during the romantic period

Infusing symphonies with personal and emotional depth

Ludwig van Beethoven's addition to romantic period in music

Expressionism

Abstract Expressionism

Movements developed in expressive theory

Edward Munch

Jackson Pollock

Artists in expressionism and abstract expressionism

The Scream

edward munch's artwork

Splatter painting abstract

jackson pollock's artwork that viewed art as a vehicle for expressing personal angst, psychological turmoil. or transdental experiences

Emotional response of the viewer

One of the central goal of expressive theory that in the audience's POV

Formalist Theory

it holds the value of a work of art lies primarily in its formal properties

Organic unity

Formalist theory is often ssociated with this concept

Structure

Compositions

Use of Visual Elements

Formal Structure of Art

Concept of Organic Unity

It suggests that all parts of the artwork must be interconnected and function harmoniously contributing to the whole of the piece

early 20th century

formalist approach became prominent at this time.

Clive Bell

Roger Fry

Proponents of the formalist idea that stated art should be appreciated for its form and aesthetic qualities alone, rather than its content or external meaning

aesthetic value

one of the key ideas of formalist theory of an artwork that can be derived from the careful arrangement of its elements

Line

Shape

Color

Texture

Composition

Elements of Arts

Wassily Kandinsky

Piet Mondrian

Paint Artist in Formalist theory who is the emphasis is o the formal arrangement of color and shape, devoid or representational or narrative concern

Igor Stravinsky

Arnold Schoenberg

Composers who is focused on the structural aspects of music, developing compositions based on rhythm, melody, and harmony, rather than external emotional or narrative content

Idea that art must represent reality or express personal emotion

Formalist theory rejects this idea

Abstract art

Minimalism

Movements developed during the formalist theory

formal qualities over narrative or expressive content

main idea of formal theory

Social

Emotional

Political concern

Critiques highly suggests that formalist theory is detaching from

Aestheticism

Philosophy of art that emphasizes the pursuit of beauty and sensory pleasure as the primary purpose of art, rather than moral, social, or representational goals.

Late 19th century

Aestheticism emerged

Oscar Wilde

James McNeill Whislter

Champion figures during the Aestheticism

Ability to evoke pleasure, beauty and harmony

Aesthetic qualities

Art for Art's Sake

stated by Oscar Wilde which encapsulates the movement's core belief that the value of art lies in its capacity to provide beauty and aesthetic enjoyment regardless of moral, utilitarian or representational function

Whistler's Mother

example of art sought to create works of art that were purely intended for visual or sensory pleasure

Modernist art

later development of aestheticism

Focus on ornamental beauty and the sensory impact of the artwork

Focus of the Aestheticism in visual arts

Pragmatism

Emphasizes the practical and functional aspects of art, focusing on its value in solving problems, improving lives and engaging with the world in meaningful ways

Emphasizes the practical and functional aspects of art

Focusing on its value in solving problems

Improving lives and engaging with the world in meaningful ways

Goal of Pragmatism in art

US in late 19th Century

Pragmatism started

Charles Sanders Pierce

William James

John Dewey

Philosophers during pragmatism

Pratical effects and consequences

Argued by the Philosophers about Pragmatism

prioritizing the impact of art in the real world over its formal or expressive qualities

Pragmatism Focused on

Public Installations

Protest Art

Example of Pragmatism in Art

Pragmatism in Literature and Drama

It considers how drama influences or empowers its audience to reflect on and act in the world.

Social Realism

Movements evolved in Pragmatism

Institutional Theory of Art

Object becomes art if it is recognized as such within context of the art world

Museum

galleries

Critics

Curators

Broader Artistic Community

Art Institutions

Mid-20th Cemtury

Institutional theory of art emerged during

George Dicke

Artist who largely attribute to the art

Marcel' Duchamp's Fountain

Example of Instiutional theory of art

Fountain by Marcel Duchamp

it is a readymade urinal displayed iin an art gallery

Cultural Theory of Art

Focused on the Socio-cultural context in which art is being produced and consumed

cultural theory of art

this theory suggests that art is deeply tied to the cultural, historical, and social context

Marxism

Feminism

Post-Colonialism

Cultural Studies

Cultural theory of art encompasses these ideologies

how art reflects, comments on, or shapes cultural values, politics, and identities

cultural theory of art also emphasize that

Power Dynamics

Ideologies

Class Struggles

Cultural Theory of Art in Karl Marx

Theodor Adorno

Herbert Marcuse

20th Century thinkers about the Karl Marx

Frida Kahlo

Example of Cultural theory of art that comments on the sociopolitical realities of Mexico, Gender, and Class

The two fridas

Frida Kahlo

Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

Beloved

Toni Morrison

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Beloved's Toni Morrison

Cultural theory of art in literature

Structuralism

Rooted in the linguistic theories

Ferdinand de Saussure

Linguistic theories that is one of the pioneers of structuralism

20th century

Movement of Structuralism

Structuralism in art

It is proposing that elements of human culture must be understood in terms of their relationship to a larger, underlying system

Claude Levi-Strauss

Roland Barthes

Influential minds for the development of structuralism

Barthes' idea of semiotivs

Contribution to the structuralism

Semiotics

Study of Signs and Symbols

Pablo Picasso's Guernica

It is not just a painting of war but as a coded response to the political and social tensions of the spanish civil war

Post-Structuralism

Influences the fluidity of interpretation

Jacques Derrida

unstable and open to multiple interpretations

Feminist Theory of Art

It examines how art reflects, reinforces, or challenges gender roles and norms

1970s

starting to emerge the feminist theory of art

Linda Nochlin

Judith Butler

Judy Chicago

Key Figures in feminist art theory

Why have there been no great women artist

Linda Nochlin